Contour cushion lounge



en. 6, 1966 A. D. WITCHEL 9 9 CONTOUR CUSHION LOUNGE Filed Aug. 17, 1964 2 Sheets-$heet l INVENTOR,

ARNOL D D. W/ TCHEL.

Dean. 6, 1966 A. D. WITCHEL 3,

CONTOUR CUSHION LOUNGE Filed Aug. 1'7, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR, A PNOL D D. W/ TCHEL United States Patent 3,289,224 CONTOUR CUSHION LOUNGE Arnold D. Witchel, 2527 Matthews Ave., Memphis, Tenn. Filed Aug. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 390,116 2 Claims. (Cl. -345) This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in body supporting devices, and in particular to body supporting resiliently flexible contour cushions.

There have been heretofore numerous lounge and other devices in use provided with cushions and contouring means relying upon either mechanical or electro-mechanical devices to effect the manipulation of the contour of the cushion. Although these devices have proven limitedly effective in use, they have been rendered bulky and cumbersome by the necessary addition of auxiliary means for the altering of the contour of the cushions of these previous devices.

The device of the present invention provides a contour cushion incorporating internal means providing for and enabling changing and positioning the contour of the cushion to a desired predetermined condition. This incorporation of the contouring means within the device of the present invention provides the present invention with increased portability, less weight, more pliability and a greater range of contour positions enhancing the comfort and posture of the user.

The principal object of the device of the present invention is to provide a contour cushion having self-contained positioning and contouring means.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a comfortable, pliable, moldable contour cushion.

Another object of the device of the present invention is to provide internal, longitudinally disposed substantially flexible positioning means for a pliable, moldable contour cushion.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a pliable, moldable contour cushion having external handle means attached to internally disposed, flexible positioning means for the longitudinal adjustment of the angularity of a said contour cushion.

Another object of the device of the present invention is to provide a contour cushion comprising a pliable bodysupporting pad having internally disposed, flexible positioning means and substantially rigid connectors to prevent sag and planar distortion of the aforesaid cushion in the various conditions of angularity and maintain a substantial degree of firmness for the comfort of the user; and

A further object of the invention is generally to improve the design, construction and efliciency of contour cushions and of lounge devices employing same.

The means by which the foregoing and other objects of the invention are accomplished and the manner of their accomplishment will be readily understood from the following specification upon reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cushion of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the device referred to in FIG. 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the present invention, taken as one the line III-III of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the device of the present invention taken as on the line IVIV of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an alternate form of the device of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings in which the various parts are indicated by numerals, the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a substantially rectangular cushion 11 formed of foam rubber, plastic or other similar flexible, pliable, limitedly resilient material having a pair of oppositely disposed substantially parallel upper and lower surfaces 13, 15. The surfaces 13, 15, are further maintained in fixed, spaced relation as by the oppositely peripherally disposed, substantially parallel, side members 17, 19, coextensive in length with the surfaces 13, 15. The cushion 11 additionally comprises a pair of end sections 21 interposed between the upper and lower body supporting surfaces 13, 15 and the side members 17, 19 in substantial perpendicularity with the surfaces 13, 15 and the side members, integrally connecting the surfaces 13, and 15 and the side members 17, 12 to form the aforementioned substantially rectangular cush ion 11.

The device of the present invention is further provided with a pair of flexible, malleable longitudinal bars 23 enclosed within and surrounded by the cushion 11, preferably equidistantly disposed somewhat inwardly from the surfaces 13, 15 and the side members 17, 19 and substantially coextensive in length with the surfaces 13, 15 and the side members 17, 19. The longitudinal bars 23 are further maintained in spaced relation within the cushion 11 as by the substantially rigid bracing struts 25, attached to the longitudinal bars 23 somewhat inwardly from the end sections 21 and contained within the enclosure formed by the surfaces 13, 15, the side members 17, 19 and the end sections 21 of the cushion 11.

The invention additionally provides a plurality of posture adjustment handles 27 integrally connected to the distal extremities of the longitudinal bars 23 and extending outwardly beyond the end sections 21 of the cushion 11. It will be noted upon reference to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawings, that the handles 27 are provided for the manual adjustment of the cushion 11 into an infinite number of degrees of contour angularity as may be desired by the user of the device.

It will be further seen that simultaneous adjustment of the longitudinally oppositely spaced handles 27 may be employed to divide and adjust the cushion 11 to form an angularly dissimilar head cushion panel 29, a central body supporting member 31 and a pedal support panel 33, as best illustrated in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings.

The absence of mechanical or like auxiliary adjusting devices allows the structure of the present invention a much greater scope of angular as well as curvilinear adjustment to achieve the posture or contour desired by the user.

It will be readily seen, upon reference to FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings, that the bracing struts 25 maintain a given, fixed, spaced relation between the longitudinal bars 23 in such manner to impart a minimum of sag, bulge or planar distortion to the body support surfaces 13, 15 in any angular attitude or curvilinear position of the cushion 11.

The absence of internal or external mechanical positioning means further provides a lightweight easily transportable contour cushion.

In the use of the device the contour of the cushion may be changed to the desired position by the user gripping the handles 27 extending outwardly beyond the head cushion panel 29 and raising or lowering the head cushion panel 29 to the angular position desired. The pedal section 33 may be angularly shifted in a like manner. A curvilinear, or hammock-like adjustment may be achieved by changing the position of one of the pairs of handles 29 with holding means applied to the opposite end of the cushion 11.

If desired, the cushion may be supported by a frame F such as illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 1 of the drawings.

An alternate form of the device of the present invention, as best illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawings, comprises a substantially rectangular contour cushion 111 preferably formed of a pliable material such as foam rubber, plastic or the like, provided with a pair of oppositely disposed substantially parallel rectangularly defined surfaces 113, 115. The surfaces 113, 115 are maintained in fixed spaced relation as by the oppositely peripherally disposed, substantially parallel side members 117, 119. The cushion 111 additionally comprises a pair of end sections 121 interposed between the upper and lower body supporting surfaces 113, 115 and the side members 117, 119 in substantial perpendicularity with the surfaces 113, 115 and the side members 117, 119, integrally connecting the surfaces 113, 115 and the side members 117, 119 to form the aforementioned substantially rectangular cushion 111.

The alternate form of the device of the present invention is further provided with a pair of internally disposed, oppositely spaced, substantially malleable, bendable, extruded longitudinal members 123 confined Within the cushion 111 somewhat inwardly from the side members 117,119, the end sections 121 and preferably equidistantly disposed in substantial parallelism with the surfaces 113, 115. The cushion 111 is further provided with a pair of internal preferably extruded bracing struts 125 interposed between the longitudinal members 123 at the extremities of the longitudinal members in substantial planar juxtaposition with the longitudinal members 123, interjoined to form a substantially rectangular structure.

Members 123, 125 are preferably formed of a meshlike material so that each of the sides of the bracing and holding rectangle formed thereby is a flat strip of mesh lying within and adjacent the borders of the cushion.

The rectangle is malleable for bending into desired angularity, maintaining such bent position until later changed.

In the use of the device of the aforementioned alternate embodiment of the present invention, the angularity of a portion of the cushion 111 is obtained by grasping the cushion 111 at one of the end sections 121 and inclining or declining the said end section 121 until the angularity by the user is obtained, bending the meshmaterial, substantially peripheral bracing rectangle into such shape whereupon the bent bracing frame maintains such desired angularity.

I claim:

Contour cushion means comprising a substantially pliable foldable cushion, bendable means surrounded by said cushion, and external handle means attached to said bendable means for the manual adjustment of the angular attitude of the profile of said contour cushion means, said pliable cushion being a semi-resilient body-supporting contour cushion in which said bendable means comprise malleable bar means having said handle means extending externally of said cushion, said handle means being integrally connected to said malleable means, rigid strut means interposed between said malleable bar means for the prevention of bulge and planar deformation of the said contour cushion When the said malleable bar means are manipulated to dispose the aforesaid contour cushion into varying degrees of angular curvilinear adjustment.

2. Contour cushion means in accordance with claim 1, in which said cushion is provided with a pair of bodysupporting surfaces and limiting means are interposed between said body-supporting surfaces, said bendable means comprise a plurality of malleable bar means embedded within and surrounded by said pliable cushion means, said rigid strut means are spaced between and connected to said malleable bar means, and said external handle means are exposed externally of said cushion and connected with said malleable bar means for said manual adjustment.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,468,558 4/1949 Johnson 5361 2,469,084 5/ 1949 Schenker 5-345 X 2,833,340 5/1958 Shapiro 20758 X 2,845,998 8/1958 Easterbrook et al. 297459 3,017,698 1/1962 Hambrecht et al. 297-453 3,027,967 4/1962 Silver 182-137 3,087,171 4/1963 Hoagland et al. 5-354 3,096,529 7/1963 Thompson 582 X References Cited by the Applicant 967,652 8/1910 Michie. 2,188,421 1/1940 Wade. 2,878,494 3/ 1959 Healy.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner. 

